Trial & Error is must see TV, for sure. And I don’t just mean because it is an NBC sitcom, a network that spent the ’90s demanding all viewers pay attention to their programming. I mean that because Trial & Error is a fantastic courtroom farce that brilliantly sends up the true crime docuseries trope that enthralls millions of binge-watchers and podcast-listeners. For all you Staircase sleuths, you’ll be psyched to learn that Season 1 of Trial & Error was a ridiculous riff on that true crime classic.

The new season of the show, titled Trial & Error: Lady, Killer, premieres this Thursday (July 19) on NBC. It delivers even more zany gags, small town absurdity, and deep cut true crime references than Season 1, and it is still very much must see TV. But the real question is, must you have seen Season 1 in order to enjoy Season 2? After all, Trial & Error is exploring new ground as an anthology-style sitcom (that’s what the added subtitle Lady, Killer is getting at, BTW). If you are curious about the new season, or if you’re a diehard Kristin Chenoweth fan and follow her from project to project, here’s everything you need to know about Trial & Error.

What is Trial & Error?

Trial & Error is a mockumentary sitcom that sends up the surge of true crime content found in docs and podcasts. The show is set in the small town of East Peck, South Carolina, a truly bizarre little spot that will seem very familiar if you’ve watched reruns of all the Hooterville comedies of the ’60s. Think Parks & Recreation’s Pawnee, but less brash and more deeply deranged and surreal. Season 1 was all about The Staircase, the whodunnit that recently returned on Netflix. Season 2, which focuses on a totally new case, will move on from The Staircase to parody a newer mystery: the HBO miniseries The Jinx.

Sergei Bachlakov/NBC

Who is in the Trial & Error cast?

The show stars Nicholas D’Agosto as Josh Segal, an in-over-his-head defense lawyer from New York City who took on his first murder case in Season 1, defending a kooky accused murderer played by John Lithgow. By Josh’s side are Dwayne Reed (Steven Boyer), a dimwitted cop-turned-investigator, and Anne Flatch (Sherri Shepherd), the head researcher who suffers from a series of Looney Tunes-esque disorders. This dysfunctional team squares off against District Attorney Carol Anne Keane (Jayma Mays), who is cunning and also quasi-sorta Josh’s kinda-not-really love interest. This season, they’re joined by Kristin Chenoweth, the titular lady/killer.

What’s up with Trial & Error: Lady, Killer?

Season 1 followed one court case through to its conclusion, and Season 2 starts a whole new case. Chenoweth plays Lavinia Peck-Foster, a local mega-celebrity beloved by every citizen of East Peck. She’s charged with killing her husband, who a police officer found stuffed in a suitcase in her trunk.

Do you need to watch Trial & Error Season 1?

Season 2 carries over plenty from Season 1, obviously. It is the same show, after all. Josh, Dwayne, and Anne have a new client (Chenoweth’s eccentric and affluent Lavinia), and they’re once again facing Carol Anne Keane. But, as this is an anthology-style show, the Season 2 premiere (airing July 19 on NBC) introduces the all-new case and all-new storyline for Season 2. If you missed Season 1 and/or you want to watch Kristin Chenoweth’s latest starring role, you can totally jump in with Season 2 and not really miss a beat. In fact, you’ll be starting off with a show that is more confidently weird than ever.

Will Trial & Error Season 2 stream on Hulu?

Yes! New episodes of the show will arrive on Hulu the morning after they premiere on NBC. So expect to see the Season 2 premiere on Hulu on the morning of July 20.

Where can you stream Trial & Error Season 1?

It also helps that you can jump right in on Season 2 because it’s a little hard to track down Season 1. You can stream the five most-recent episodes on Hulu, meaning the last few episodes of Season 1 only. You can also stream episodes on NBC.com (yay!), but only if you have a cable provider login (oh). So if you want to watch all of Season 1 (which you should!), you’ll have to pay for a season on services like iTunes or Amazon’s Prime Video. So yeah, maybe it’s a good thing that Season 2 is a totally fresh start.